Package diverting device



May 21, 1935. p VAN w ET AL 2,001,927

PACKAGE DIVERTING DEVICE Filed April 13, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 21, 1935. p A wY ET AL 2,001,927

PACKAGE DIVERTING DEVICE Filed April 13, 19:53 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 pm .74 Z

Patented May 21, 1935 Paul Van Wyk and Irvine R. Acheson, Portland. Greg assignors toFood Machinery Corporation, San: J ose," QaliL,

ware

a corporation of Dela p,

' App1icationnpril13, 1933Q'SerialNo.666,036 I 13 Claims, (or. 198-185 5 at will, to any desired place along a conveyor length, and which has movable meansjfor-receive system to change the direction ofmovement of articles or'to convey them to remote locations.

Long conveyor belts ar'e usually employed in storage warehouses, in connectioniwith the well known gravity 'roller conveyors for transferring and distributing packages of various sorts throughout the warehouse or for conveying .them toloading platforms or cars. a

I These belt conveyors are usually extendedthe full length of the storage house and atintervals the .packages are diverted from the main. 0011-.

veyor by means of various devices but principally by a simple sweeparm overlying the belt at the place of diversion for intercepting the packages and turning them from the straight belt to a positioned gravity conveyor. or to. another conveyor of some sort for conveyance in-another direction. c

All devices heretofore for the diversion of articles from a main source of conveyance'have given more or less trouble from the friction involved where the packages are atall heavyor bulky. r L The friction of the packages against themain belt added to that of moving against a fixed sweep arm as a diverting device many times tips the packages and causes them to fall off the conveyor and almost always stops theirmovement so that theoncoming packagescrowd against them and cause jams of more or less frequency entailing the attention ofan operator or perhaps several operators along the line gtof keep the packages straightened out and moving in proper manner. r

The subject of this application comprises a device that is a complete portable unit, that is easily moved along the'main conveyor belt and is quickly attachable atanyv place along its entire ing the articles or packages as they approach and convey them at the same speed as when on the main belt or to accelerate the speed so theywill clear the device well ahead of the oncoming packages and thus reduce the possibility of inter-- ference between packages to a minimum. a a

The device carries means, for quickly attachingthe endof ,aroller gravity conveyor. so that'the packages being diverted will be delivered tothe:

; gravity conveyor, thatis elevated above .the plane of the main conveyor, which is highly desirable in roll or other type of conveyor.

. order to give the gravity conveyor as long a travel'as possible. 7

This portable unit also is provided with means whereby the mov ementof the mainconveyor acts as the power medium to operate the diverting device, thus power is available wherever the diverter isattached to the main conveyor, and as the gravity conveyors are made up of portable units -they may be assembled with the diverting de- K vice wherever it isdesiredito place. it along the line.

It is therefore an object of thefinvention to provide a diverter for a conveying system that is portable and attachable at any pointalong the line. l.

7 It is also an object of the invention to provide a package diverting device deriving p'owerto op: crate it. from contact with the main conveyor.

It is a furtherobject of the invention. to'fprovide a package diverting device that carries means'for quickly attaching the end of a gravity It is a further object of the invention. toprovide a package diverting device for usewith a' belt conveyor which will snap into place without the necessity of special attaching devices. a

"It is a further object. of the invention to pro vide a package diverting device that will be adjustable'to different heights to accommodate opierative conditions. With such objects in view as well as other advantages, which may be inherent in'the invention, consisting in the parts and combinations hereafter set} forth and claimed, it is understood that the several necessary parts and combinations constituting the same may be varied in their proportions, placement and general arrangement without departing from the scope and nature of the invention, and in order to make' the invention more clearly understood there are shown somewhat diagrammatically, in the accompanying drawingsmeans and mechanism for placingthe invention in the preferred form without limiting the improve- .ments to the particular construction shown.

Referring to the drawings Figure l is a plan of the invention as applied to an ordinary belt conveyor and discharging onto a roller gravity conveyor of the wellkhown type.

Figure 2 is aside elevation of the device of Fig. 1.

r The numeral 1|. represents any ordinaryty'pe of belt conveyor mounted on a horizo'ntaliframe work 2 and having the supporting rollers 3 arrangedat regular-intervals. var. i r "l The diverter forming the subject matter of this L I 9. and thereby thediverter. 45

application comprises a frame work 4, tied to gether by the cross member 5 and the cross member 6. The side frame members 4 extend ahead of the member 5 and form attachable means "I having slotted openings 8 to engage with the roller spindles 9 which tends to accurately posi tion the devicerelative to the main conveyor belt I. a The frame members 4 carry; a series of .-1'-e11'ers I 0, II, I2 and I3. A conveyor belt I4 is trained over the rollers I 0, I I and I2 to act as the com veying means for packages landing on the diverter, and the roller i8 is provided with take-lip means to keep the belt I4 sufliciently tight for operation. 1 r

The roller I3 is in floating relation to theside members 4 and may be covered with some yielding material such as rubber which will frictionally engage with the main belt I belt I4 where it passes around the roller I2 and thus form the drive medium between the main belt I and the belt I4, and as positioned in Fig. 2 will drive the diverter belt I4 in the same direction and at the same speed as the main belt I. The forward end of the diverter'i's elevated and held in operative position by means of the side supports I5 which are pivoted to the frame 4 andhave holes to' snap over the ends of the tie rods I 6 holding the rollers 3. Thus positioned the diverter is held sufliciently rigid for any normal operation.

Across the receiving end of the diverter is'a 'member 5 acting as a tie barand also acting as a cover for the drive roller I 3 and as ag'uide to direct the packages up onto the diverter belt I4 fromthe main belt-I. ,7 Across the delivery end of the diverter is a tie bar 6 secured to the pendent members I! and carrying the angle bar I8 with the studs [9 which serve as attaching means for the roller gravity conveyor as clearly shown in Fig. 2, wherein the gravity conveyor is simple hookedove'r the studs held in operative relation with The manner of attaching the diverter to the main conveyor and the manner of attaching the gravity conveyor .to the diverter enables the device to be removed andreplace'cl at any new position along theline without the intervention of tools or appliances.

operation V V In attaching the diverter to a conveyor belt as is shown in the drawings the diverter is held in the hands by operators and the ends of the frame 4 lowered down under one of the roller tie rods I5 and hooked thereunder just inside of the sidebars 2, then the free end is lowered and the su ports I5 sprung outside of the side bars 2 and snapped over the ends of thetie rods I6; several holes in each of the supports I5 being provided to give a measure of vertical adjustability.

As the diverter is lowered to the position for normal operation the friction roller I3 is pressed down onto-the main conveyor belt I and it is thereby deflected as shown in the dotted lines of Fig. 2. W This gives the belta considerable arcuate contact with the roller and serves as a very eflicient drive device to drive the diverter belt I4.

When the diverter is positioned the end of the rollerg'ravity conveyor is hooked over the studs I9 and everything is in readiness for operation. Either a right hand or left hand gravity turn and with the may be attached so that packages may be diverted to either side of the main conveyor.

Inasmuch as the rollers 3 are regularly spaced along the entire length of the main conveyor I it is quite apparent that the diverter can be almost instantly attached to any tie rod I5 along the entire conveyor system and thus in the quickest possible time change the direction or path of packages beiilgline'ved by. the main conveyor.

Owing to the fact that the diverter actually receives the packages by a moving element and carries them to the roller or other type of conv'e'yr attached to the discharge end of the diverter there is practically no cause for jamming or confusionat the diverter and no package is ever left stranded as is the case where the crowding of the packages has been depended upon for transferring them to another path.

It is to be understood also that the extent of the elevation of the packages is not limited to that shown but that the diverter may be made as long and extensive as desired to suit any and all conditions or requirements of operation.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A diverting device for changing the direction of moving packages'in a transfer system'comprising a portable frame member, said transfer system including rollers mounted on spindles, and a flexible conveyor belt moving over said rollers, means associated with said diverting device for attachment to the spindles of said transfer system, means on said diverter for engaging frictionally with said conveyor belt and transmitting movement therefrom, a conveyor belt on said diverter receiving movement from said friction means and means for positioning said diverter to elevate packages moved thereby and means for attaching a transfer device to said diverter to receivepackages therefrom. Y

2. A main conveyor for moving packages along a predetermined path comprising a frame work, a flexible conveyor and supporting rollers, a package diverter consisting of a portable unit conveyor attachable to any one of said supporting rollers and wholly supported by said main conveyor, friction means on said portable unit conveyor for-contact with said main conveyor to derive movement therefrom, means carried by said unit conveyor for directing packages'from said main conveyor to said unit conveyor to transfer them to a place of disposal.

- 3. A main conveyor for moving packages through a predetermined path comprising a frame work, a flexible conveyor and supporting rollers, a package diverter consisting of a portable unit conveyor disposed over the said main conveyor and easily attachable to any one of said supporting rollers in any desired posit-ion therealong, friction means carried by said portable unit conveyor for contact with said main conveyor to derive movement therefrom; means carried by said unit conveyor for causing a'flexing of said main convezor when said friction means is contacted therewi h. V 1

' 4. A package diverting device for changing the direction of moving packages in a transfer system comprising a portable frame member, said transfer system including a series of rollers mounted on spindles and a flexible conveyor belt moving over said rollers, said portable frame member. having means for attachment to the spindle of a roller, a friction drive memberassociated with said diverter and adapted to engage and flex said 

